1. In a nutshell 

2. Feature availability 

3. Overview

1. When an appointment is booked in Bookings, it will automatically create a new contact in Bigin. It also updates the existing contacts, keeping your customer info up-to-date.
   
2. It allows mapping Booking form fields to Bigin fields as per your requirement during initial setup and after that the sync happens automatically, thereby pushing the customer details exactly.
   
3. Appointments can be added as events to Bigin. Those events will also be updated when they are rescheduled or cancelled in Bookings.
   
4. Events in Bigin will block the respective time slots in Bookings.
   
5. Bigin customers can be accessed in Bookings while adding an appointment.
   

4. Steps to integrate 

Note: Only admins can perform this integration. Once an admin completes the integration process, other users can connect their Bigin account in-order to utilize the integration. 

1. Click Integrations in the top-right corner of the Bookings menu bar and select Others on the left side pane.
   
2. Click the Zoho Bigin card.
   
   
3. Click Connect Zoho Bigin in the Overview page.
   
4. Choose the Bigin organization that you want to connect, then click Submit.
   
5. Authorize the connection by clicking Accept. You'll be redirected to the integration page for further setup.
   
6. A slider will be shown where you can map the booking form fields to Bigin fields. The first slider, Sync Customer Details, lets you map the default Bookings fields like Name, Email, and Contact Number to Bigin's Contacts module fields. Select the required Bigin fields in the right side dropdowns as shown in the below image.
   
   
   
   Note: Name field mapping
   You have the option to map the name field either as a single name or split it into first name and last name.
1. If you want to push the name as a single entity, choose the "Name" radio button displayed in the image above.
   
2. If you prefer to push the name as first name and last name, select the "First Name, Last Name" radio button shown in the image below.
   Afterwards, choose the corresponding Bigin field name from the dropdown menu.
   
   
7. Click Save. This will show the next slider.
   
8. The next slider Sync Appointment Details allows to map the custom fields to Bigin's Events module fields. First choose a service; this will display the custom fields added for that service. Next, select the custom field in the left dropdown and choose the suitable Bigin fields in the right dropdown to map those custom fields.
   Repeat this step by choosing different services and mapping its custom fields.
   
   
   
   Note: In custom fields mapping, when you change the services, the previous service mappings are still retained. You can choose multiple services and map their custom fields. 
9. Click Save. The integration is all set.
   

While mapping fields, the field types have to be compatible as given in the below list.

Bookings field type	Bigin field type
SingleLine, MultiLine	Single line, Multi-line
Email	Email
Dropdown	Picklist
Date	Date
Checkbox	Multi-select
Radio button	Single line or Multi-line

5. More configurations 

5.1 Change organization

This integration connects Bookings org to any one of the Bigin organizations. You can change the required Bigin organization by clicking the Change Organization option in the Configure tab as shown in the below image.

Note: This can be performed only by the admin who integrated this connection. Additionally, if the organization is changed, all the mappings should be configured again.

5.2 Check conflicts with Bigin events

By default, time slots are checked for conflicts with Bigin events in order to avoid collision of appointments. If the user has events at a specific time in Bigin, it blocks the respective time slot in Bookings. This setting can be changed according to each user preference.

To setup the check conflicts option

1. Click the Connections tab in Zoho Bigin integration.
   
2. 
   Select the edit icon under the Check Conflicts with section.
   
3. 
   A pop-up will appear. You can select or deselect the Bigin calendar name here.
   

Note: If you don't want Bigin events to be checked for your appointments, you can deselect the calendar in the pop-up above.

5.3 Add bookings to Bigin events

By default, whenever an appointment is booked in Bookings, it will be added as an event in Bigin. You can change this setting if needed according to your requirement.

To setup the add bookings to option

1. Click the Connections tab in Zoho Bigin integration.
   
2. Select the edit icon under the Add Bookings to section.
   
3. 
   Select the Bigin calendar name in the pop-up that appears.
   
4. If you wish not to add the appointments as Bigin events, select the Do not add new events to a calendar option under Choose Bigin account as shown below.
   
5. Enabling the checkbox Set as default to add invite to customer calendar  will send calendar invite from Bigin. By default, this checkbox will be deselected. You can select it if you want to send an invite from Bigin.
   
   

Info: If you have chosen another calendar under Calendar integrations in Integration > Calendars > Add Bookings to, then the calendar invite will be sent from both Bigin and the integrated calendar. To avoid duplicate invites, it is advised to only use one option.

5.4 Booking page selection for extension

This option is applicable only if Zoho Bookings for Zoho Bigin extension is installed in Zoho Bigin. Here, you can choose the booking page that has to be shown when you click New Appointment button in Zoho Bigin contacts. Select a booking page in the dropdown as shown in the below image.

5.5 How can staff connect to Bigin?

Once an admin set up the integration, the staff can connect their Bigin account to Bookings to check conflicts and add their appointments to Bigin. To connect, the staff member has to be a user in Bigin.

Steps:

1. Click Integrations in the menu bar, then click Others in the left side pane.
   
2. Click Zoho Bigin under Connections Enabled. 
   
3. Select the Bigin calendar in the Check conflicts with section to block the conflicting slots as explained in section 5.2.
   
4. Select the Bigin calendar in Add bookings to section to appointments to Bigin events as stated in this section 5.3.
   

 

5.6 Connect Bigin calendar to a resource

Any one of the admin's or in-charge staff member's calendars can be linked to a resource. This can be useful if a staff member should be blocked when the resource is booked. Under Resources > Other Connections, you can select the Bigin calendar of any one of the users.

Once connected, select the Bigin calendar for checking conflicts and adding bookings.

5.7 Encrypted field

A field marked as encrypted either in Bookings or in Bigin cannot be mapped or synced. If the fields are marked as encrypted after the initial mappings has been setup, then you will need to either map it to a different field or remove the encryption option.

 

6. How does this integration work? 

6.1 Customers and Contacts sync 

Bigin contacts can be accessed in Bookings while staff add an appointment in Bookings In-app.

6.2 Appointments and Events sync 

7. Points to note 

1. Only the admin who integrated the connection can reauthorize the Bigin connection if the connection is revoked.
   
2. If you want the event to be added to Bigin, but not to send a calendar invite from Bigin, then you can disable the checkbox Set as default to add invite to customer calendar in Add Bookings to.
   
   
   

8. Related  links

1. Zoho CRM Integration